Patrick in his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus displays a fiery opposition to the treatment of some of his converts. From reading the letter it seems that some of the soldiers of Coroticus, who presumably was a local chief had attacked a gathering of Christians killing some and taking hostage others. It seems that this was a practice that was widespread in the world at that time. In essence Patrick was speaking out against the slave trade! This was something he was familiar with, as he had been a slave for over six years himself. Patrick is one of the earliest Christian leaders to speak out on such issues.

It is probable that Coroticus and his soldiers were nominal Christians, hence Patrick’s harshness towards them. They were compromising everything that Patrick stood for and everything they claimed to stand for as well.